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Originally Posted by lenseman
The study is somewhat flawed from the get-go....
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Actually, I don't think it's that the study is necessarily
flawed, though it's far from conclusive. It's that a) it is preliminary, b) it's limited in scope, and c) a Wired blogger is essentially using it to jump to an unjustifiable conclusion.
(The study didn't discuss ebooks at all, by the way.)
I.e. the real issue should be less with the study, and more with how a blogger has interpreted the results.
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Originally Posted by lenseman
The only reason books continued to be printed in black ink on white paper is because they were cheaper to produce. Now we have done it for so long that e-readers have been based off of this design....
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Sort of, although I believe many ereader apps offer a "black background, white text" option.
I'd expect that if studies can prove that inverting text colors offers a benefit, you'll see more of it.
I also have my doubts that chalkboards started out dark is because of legibility. I'd assume it's a material limitation, i.e. there weren't any viable alternatives 100+ years ago -- any studies must have taken place long after chalkboards were in use. Also, AFAIK many classrooms now use whiteboards instead.
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Originally Posted by lenseman
I have proven it for myself before.
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That's nice, but this sort of anecdotal evidence doesn't really prove anything.
You didn't use any sort of testing method, you didn't test other people, you don't have any sort of rigorous protocols, there doesn't seem to be any way to isolate one factor from another (including the novelty of inverting the text), and clearly there's no way for any of us to test the veracity of your claims.
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Originally Posted by lenseman
As someone already said it is just fear of change. It could also just be some group trying to make a name for themselves using scare tactics marketed as 'scientific research'.
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The
blogger is probably indulging in a bit of "boo scary" to justify his own trepidations about ebooks. The actual study, however, is not.
The researchers primarily suggest that a judicious use of difficult (disfluent) text might be a low-cost way to improve reading comprehension. Their conclusion has nothing to do with ebooks, really.